The developers wanted to create a game where you have little idea of where you are and why anything is happening, at least until you start to uncover the secrets in the game. However, such a simple description does a disservice to the level of mystery that surrounds Rule of Rose. The premise of the game is that Jennifer, who has suffered a traumatic childhood that she has subsequently tried to regress, must uncover and face the events from her past. It seems like a strange choice for a Japanese survival horror game, but Rule of Rose is set in 1930s England and features locations as diverse as a zeppelin and an orphanage. The tormentor is English, and despite sounding exactly like Keira Knightley, the maniacal laughter and feeling of confusion is scary.Īt this point, the overall story has not been explained, but the woman's English accent gives some clue to your location in the game. Another woman addresses Jennifer over a speaker, informing her that she must find a selection of impressive gifts or else she will die. Moving from American Beauty-style eroticism to Saw-like terror, the game puts you in control of a woman named Jennifer, who is tied up in a dank basement. We were taken through some sections of the game by the developers, and the more we saw, the weirder it became.
It offers mild titillation, with two girls about to indulge in a passionate embrace, before the encounter is artistically covered up with red roses. The game contains elements that are not usually seen in Western games, such as the erotic lesbian undertones that are featured in the game's introduction sequence. Perhaps it's due to the difference between Eastern and Western cultures, but Sony has opted not to publish Rule of Rose in the US and Europe, with 505 Games and Atlus picking it up for the respective territories. The whole project was wrapped up under Sony's internal development banner and then published by the company in Japan.
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The 50 minutes of CGI have been produced by Shirogumi, a team that also handled movie duties on Onimusha and Genji. The main part of the game has been handled by Punch Line, the developers of Chulip, which is also yet to be released in the West. The game itself, which was released in Japan at the beginning of 2006, has been a coproduction between two acclaimed development teams. The CGI interludes are effective, both technically and artistically. The game also displays unflinching cruelty toward its female protagonist, and while it's never particularly explicit, the undertones of malice and eroticism are sure to earn the game mature age ratings upon release. It has an oppressive atmosphere and a haunting soundtrack, and like the best horror, it subtly creeps into your consciousness and refuses to leave. Rule of Rose may be a survival horror game, but it's a particularly brutal take on the genre.